Awards

Awards (a bit of horn-tooting)

*Amy was stoked to win the award for Best Food & Beverage story at the Magazine Grands Prix Awards (2017) for her feature, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Calisson” in enRoute magazine. It was a glorious awards night at the Four Seasons Toronto, full of delicious chicken, free-flowing bubbly and smiles all around. Amy won a glass trophy and a fat cheque for her efforts.

*Amy was thrilled to be a finalist for Alberta’s 2016 Alto Award for Tourism Media, for her enRoute magazine story, “Calgary is Upping the Steaks”, whereby she spent 48 hours eating delectable beef at amazing restaurants.

*Amy was happy to be part of the team nominated for two 2016 National Magazine Awards, for Best Single Issue and Best Editorial Package, for enRoute magazine’s wonderful November 2015 Food Issue.

*Amy was honoured to win the 2015 Explore Canada Culinary Award at GoMedia Canada for her Food Arts story, “A High Way with Byways”. Judge Michael Smith, renowned chef and Food Network host, delighted in this Newfoundland story. “Rosen’s words bring this unique destination to life as she grabs the reader with the promise of discovery and delivers a sense of wonder that looks good on all of Canada,” Smith noted. “Her prose evokes time and place, leaves us wanting to know more and with an urge to travel!”

*’The Future of French Food’, a story Amy wrote for enRoute magazine, won 1st place for Best Food & Drink Feature at the 2015 TMAC conference, while her Food Arts magazine story, ‘A High Way with Byways’ won 2nd place for Best Story About Travel in Canada. Since Canada and food are two of her favourite things, this meant double happiness.

*Amy was thrilled to win Best Story at the Canadian Tourism Commission’s 2014 GoMedia conference, for her feature ‘Creating A Scene’, which appeared in Food Arts magazine. Check out this great video that showcases Canada (and Amy, starting at min 1:47). Her prizes? A custom silver dollar from the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg, and a pleasant cheque.

*Nominated in the Best Short Feature category at the 2014 National Magazine Awards for her enRoute story, ‘The Future of French Food’, Amy proved that you win some, you lose some. This time she lost some.

*Amy was delighted to win the Travel Media Award at the Ontario Tourism Summit (2013) for her story ‘Creating A Scene’, an ode to Toronto’s restaurant Renaissance, which appeared in Food Arts magazine. Her prize is a glitzy trophy and a nice big cheque.

*Amy won the Canadian Tourism Commission’s inaugural “Keep Exploring” Award of Excellence in Travel Journalism (2013) for her body of proudly Canadian travel stories. (She’s so old.) In celebration at the GoMedia conference in Charlottetown, there was a video retrospective (check it out, starting at min 12:30), a glass vessel, a nice cheque and lots of drinking and dancing.

*The Canadian Tourism Commission and Canada Media Marketplace 2013 honoured Amy with the Northern Lights Award for Excellence in Travel Journalism, for her story ‘Creating A Scene’, which appeared in Food Arts magazine. She was flown to NYC and put up at the luxurious Waldorf-Astoria for the affair, and absolutely loves her prize, a hand-crafted ceramic vessel from Alberta.

*Amy’s story, “Naked Lunch”, which appeared in enRoute magazine, was a finalist for the 2012 best culinary story at the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) awards. It was about her eating at Michelin-starred restaurants housed in luxury wellness hotels in Germany. So really, she’d already won.

*Amy was a finalist for Best Canadian Travel Story of the Year, at the 2012 GoMedia conference in Whitehorse, Yukon, for her story “My Life and Times with the CN Tower”. She didn’t win, but boy, did she ever have a hoot in the land of the midnight sun.

*At the 2011 North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) awards, Amy won a gold for her story “Can a Croissant Change Your Life?”, which she wrote for Perceptivetravel.com, and a silver for her story “My Life and Times with the CN Tower”, also written for Perceptivetravel.com. (She writes about what she knows.) And she’ll definitely be writing about the awesome trip to Alaska she won.

*Amy’s story, “Where the dinos fly” was a finalist in the Best Travel Journalism category at the 2011 Ontario Tourism Awards. Even if she didn’t win, she had fun taking her nephew and niece to several of Ottawa’s incredible museums while “researching” the story.

*”Once Upon a Time in Vienna”, a story Amy wrote for Perceptivetravel.com won a gold at the 2010 NATJA awards, and her Globe & Mail feature “Sparkling Hill Resort offers Okanagan Oasis”, won a bronze.

*Amy was a finalist at the 2010 Tourism Hamilton Awards for her National Post story “The Ontario Savannah” and received the honourable mention. Said the judges: “‘The Ontario Savannah’ leads the reader on a trek through Canada’s Original Safari Adventure African Lion Safari, with nods to other features in the Hamilton area. Highlighting memories from her own childhood visits to African Lion Safari, Amy Rosen guides us in a descriptive article featuring the lions, zebras, sheep, wildebeests, yak, and especially the baboons.”

*Amy’s National Post story, “How to turn 40” won a 2009 NATJA award.

*Amy’s story ‘Don’t Eat Low-Lying Berries, and Other Lessons Learned in the Wales Countryside’, which appeared at Perceptivetravel.com, won the VisitBritain 2008 Travel Journalism Award for best online story. The winners in the other categories were Anthony Bourdain from the Travel Channel, Travel + Leisure, and the Miami Herald. Part of the winning package is a four day trip for two to England’s North Country.

*Beating last year’s personal best, Amy won four 2008 North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) awards, including a first for her enRoute story “Someone’s in the Kitchen with Daniel”, and runner-ups for “Don’t Eat Low-Lying Berries, and Other Lessons Learned in the Wales Countryside”, and “Bloodvein: Redemption on the River”, both of which appeared at Perceptivetravel.com. She also won for “This is Tel Aviv”, which appeared in enRoute. She will soon be heading to Philadelphia for her deluxe weekender prize.

*For the second time in as many years, Amy was a finalist for the Tourism Excellence Travel Media Award (presented by the Globe and Mail) at the 2008 TIAC National Awards, based on her Can-con body of work. This time, she won. A metre-tall NovaScotian Crystal trophy now has a place of pride on her office shelf, and she also received a nice letter from the Minister of Tourism.

*At the 11th Annual Hamilton Tourism Awards, Amy was the runner-up for the Tourism Media Award for her article in the National Post called “Steeltown Scoop”, which saw her eat 14 scoops of ice cream and a chocolate milkshake within a three hour period.

*Amy won three 2007 North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) awards. She won first place for “Insulin was Born in London” in the National Post, another first for “Building an Igloo (at 40 Below)” for Perceptivetravel.com, and a runner-up for her enRoute feature, “Shell Game”. So, a mixed bag, really. A sumptuous three-night stay at Sooke Harbour House is now hers for the taking.

*At the annual Travel Media Association of Canada conference (2007), Amy won the Starwood Golden Click Award for best online travel story for “Building an Igloo (at 40 Below), and a second place for the Calgary AGM Destination Award for “Wanted: Chefs, Waiters, Dishwashers’ in the National Post. She very much appreciated the two fat cheques and the shadow box.

*Amy won the Platinum Award at the Canadian E-Tourism Awards in Vancouver (2007) for Best Traveller Storytelling, for a story she wrote about building an igloo at 40-below, for perceptivetravel.com. A special shout-out to her Inuit guides, Joseph and Mary. See a nicely edited video of the event at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVwcV6cT6ds

*Amy was a finalist at the 2007 TIAC National Awards for the Tourism Excellence Travel Media Award (presented by the Globe and Mail), based on her Can-con body of work this year. She was flown to Victoria for the black tie affair, whereupon she enjoyed the champagne and bison dinner at the Empress, and was also happy to lose to Doug English, a 40-year travel writing vet and the well-deserving recipient.

*Amy’s National Post story, “At Home on the Range”, was a finalist for the Media Award at the Travel Alberta Industry Conference in Banff (2007). With more than 700 participants, the event is the largest tourism industry conference in Canada. A panel of 24 judges determined that Rosen could be a finalist, but would not win.

*At the 9th Annual Hamilton Tourism Awards (2007), Amy won the TourismMedia Award for her article in the National Post called “Hamming it Up”. There was a buffet dinner for 400 people (three stations: Chinese, Italian and Roast Beef), she was interviewed by the local TV station, then gave a little speech (she said: “Thank you”.) What the judges said: “Rosen turned a joke into a cheerful and eye-raising article. In a hunt to find where all the Toronto artists had gone, Rosen found them in the traditional and captivating neighbourhood of James Street North. This journalist took great care in painting Hamilton as a city full of energy and vitality.” The beautiful awards were crafted by the same artist who makes the Junos.

*Amy was nominated for a 2006 National Magazine Award for her contribution to the editorial package, “Eat Cheap” in Toronto Life magazine.

*Amy’s enRoute feature “Divine Intervention” took first place at the Canadian Tourism Commission’s ‘Northern Lights’ awards, for best international magazine article (2005). They flew her to New York for the awards luncheon whereupon she was flanked by Mounties while receiving a gorgeous glass vessel, created by a Calgary artisan. What the judges said: “Spa pieces may be necessary, but they aren’t always a great read. Sure, spa-goers may be keen to know about mud wraps and massage styles. But spa stories, we thought, are like the Sears catalog: all facts and figures and a couple of predictable adjectives. Then comes Amy Rosen. We actually re-read this piece about her experience at Haldimand Hills in southern Ontario for pleasure. It’s smart, observant and funny, and works because its chronological structure takes us along the writer’s own ups and downs. Rosen experiences bouts of trepidation, mixed with slices of sheer joy and relaxation, and the varied pacing, sentence structure and word selection all work to mimic that teeter-totter of emotion. Each day is punctuated with an amusing point-form recapitulation of food consumed and tensions released, and it serves to mark both the passage of time and the passing of Rosen’s own reluctance. This piece provides the facts a devoted spa-goer needs, but it also appeals to other readers because Rosen’s so disarming.”

*Amy’s enRoute feature “Divine Intervention” won the honorable mention (AKA runner-up) for the Choice Award of Excellence in Travel Journalism for the best travel feature about Canada, awarded to a member of TMAC (2005). A comfortable two-night stay for a family of four at a Choice Hotels Canada location is now hers.

*Amy’s National Post feature “Ladies of the Vine” won an award of excellence at the North American Travel Journalist Association Awards (2004).

*Amy’s enRoute feature “Ring My Bell” won an award of excellence at the North American Travel Journalist Association Awards (2003) in the Destination Travel International Magazine category.

*Amy was nominated for a prestigious James Beard award for her enRoute feature “Canada’s Best New Restaurants” in the Magazine Restaurant Review or Critique category. She went to NYC for the awards ceremony in May 2003 with her fingers crossed, but she lost anyway. Even so, it was an honour just to be nominated and she was tickled pink by the whole thing. Well-wishers sent her dozens of emails and phone calls, flowers and champagne, and even a chocolate cupcake, which she thought was a nice touch.

*Amy won an award of excellence at the Apex Awards for Publication Excellence in Magazine & Journal Writing (2003), for her piece Canada’s Best New Restaurants, in enRoute Magazine. Yes, it sounds like a Seinfeldesque made-up award, but we’ve been assured that it’s real.

*Amy won the Canadian Medical Association Journal and The Canadian Journal of Surgery’s Amy Chouinard Memorial Essay Prize for the best feature on a medical topic by a Canadian student journalist. She won $750 and her article was printed in the medical journal. Amy’s father, Dr. Rosen, was duly impressed.